Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28696286›Full record

Trial reportProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2017

Intranasal oxytocin treatment for social deficits and biomarkers of response in children with autism.

Karen J Parker, Ozge Oztan, Robin A Libove, Raena D Sumiyoshi, Lisa P Jackson, Debra S Karhson, Jacqueline E Summers, Kyle E Hinman, Kara S Motonaga, Jennifer M Phillips and 3 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01624194 (Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo Controlled Trial of Intranasal Oxytocin Treatment for Social Deficits in Children With Autism.), which is not on this map. Cited by 181 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
181citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT01624194 phase2completednot on this map

Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo Controlled Trial of Intranasal Oxytocin Treatment for Social Deficits in Children With Autism.

TypeinterventionalSponsorStanford UniversityRan2012 to 2016Enrolled54ConditionsAutismArmsOxytocin nasal spray, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

181 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Double-blind, sham-controlled, pilot study of trigeminal nerve stimulation for autism spectrum disorder.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026
    Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Trial
  15. Genetic and epigenetic signatures associated with plasma oxytocin levels in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2023
    Trial
  16. Trial
  17. Trial
  18. Divergent effects of oxytocin on "mind-reading" in healthy males.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2022
    Trial
  19. Trial
  20. Trial

121 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Karen J ParkerDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305; kjparker@stanford.edu.
Ozge OztanDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Robin A LiboveDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Raena D SumiyoshiDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Lisa P JacksonDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Debra S KarhsonDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Jacqueline E SummersDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Kyle E HinmanDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Kara S MotonagaDepartment of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Jennifer M PhillipsDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Dean S CarsonDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Joseph P GarnerDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Antonio Y HardanDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.

Funding

TRAINING FOR CHILD PSYCHIATRY AND CHILD DEVELOPMENTT32MH019908 · NIMH · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI IAN H GOTLIB, DAVID S HONG · 1993 to 2026
$6.3M
Epigenetic regulation of social impairments and treatment response in autismR21HD083629 · NICHD · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI PARKER, KAREN J. · 2015 to 2016
$439k
NICHD NIH HHS R21 HD083629NIMH NIH HHS T32 MH019908
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by core social deficits. Prognosis is poor, in part, because existing medications target only associated ASD features. Emerging evidence suggests that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) may be a blood-based biomarker of social functioning and a possible treatment for ASD. However, prior OXT treatment trials have produced equivocal results, perhaps because of variability in patients' underlying neuropeptide biology, but this hypothesis has not been tested. Using a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel design, we tested the efficacy and tolerability of 4-wk intranasal OXT treatment (24 International Units, twice daily) in 32 children with ASD, aged 6-12 y. When pretreatment neuropeptide measures were included in the statistical model, OXT compared with placebo treatment significantly enhanced social abilities in children with ASD [as measured by the trial's primary outcome measure, the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS)]. Importantly, pretreatment blood OXT concentrations also predicted treatment response, such that individuals with the lowest pretreatment OXT concentrations showed the greatest social improvement. OXT was well tolerated, and its effects were specific to social functioning, with no observed decrease in repetitive behaviors or anxiety. Finally, as with many trials, some placebo-treated participants showed improvement on the SRS. This enhanced social functioning was mirrored by a posttreatment increase in their blood OXT concentrations, suggesting that increased endogenous OXT secretion may underlie this improvement. These findings indicate that OXT treatment enhances social abilities in children with ASD and that individuals with pretreatment OXT signaling deficits may stand to benefit the most from OXT treatment.

Indexed as

Social SkillsAdministration, InhalationAutism Spectrum DisorderChildFemaleHumansMaleOxytocicsOxytocinOxytocicsOxytocinautismbiomarkersclinical trialoxytocinsocial functioning

Identifiers

PMID28696286
PMCPMC5544319

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.